Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

524 Taxation of receipts from sale of patent rights

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, where a person resident in the United Kingdom sells all or any part of any patent rights and the net proceeds of the sale consist wholly or partly of a capital sum, he shall, subject to the provisions of this Chapter, be charged to tax under Case VI of Schedule D, for the chargeable period in which the sum is received by him and successive chargeable periods, being charged in each period on the same fraction of the sum as the period is of six years (or such less fraction as has not already been charged).

(2) If the person by notice served on the inspector not later than two years after the end of the chargeable period in which the sum was received, elects that the whole of the sum shall be charged to tax for that chargeable period, it shall be charged to tax accordingly.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, where a person not resident in the United Kingdom sells all or any part of any patent rights and the net proceeds of the sale consist wholly or partly of a capital sum, and the patent is a United Kingdom patent, then, subject to the provisions of this Chapter—

(a) he shall be chargeable to tax in respect of that sum under Case VI of Schedule D; and

(b) section 349(1) shall apply to that sum as if it was an annual sum payable otherwise than out of profits or gains charged to income tax; and

(c) all other provisions of the Tax Acts shall, save as therein otherwise provided, have effect accordingly.

(4) If, not later than two years after the end of the year of assessment in which the sum is paid, the person to whom it is paid, by notice to the Board, elects that the sum shall be treated for the purpose of income tax for that year and each of the five succeeding years as if one-sixth thereof, and no more, were included in his income chargeable to tax for all those years respectively, it shall be so treated, and all such repayments and assessments of tax for each of those years shall be made as are necessary to give effect to the election, but—

(a) the election shall not affect the amount of tax which is to be deducted and assessed under section 349(1) and 350; and

(b) where any sum is deducted under section 349(1), any adjustments necessary to give effect to the election shall be made by way of repayment of tax; and

(c) those adjustments shall be made year by year and as if one-sixth of the sum deducted had been deducted in respect of tax for each year, and no repayment of, or of any part of, that portion of the tax deducted which is to be treated as deducted in respect of tax for any year shall be made unless and until it is ascertained that the tax ultimately falling to be paid for that year is less than the amount of tax paid for that year.

(5) In subsections (3) and (4) above, “tax” shall mean income tax or, in subsection (3) in a case where the seller of the patent rights, being a company, would be within the charge to corporation tax in respect of any proceeds of the sale not consisting of a capital sum, corporation tax.

(6) Where subsection (3) applies to charge a company to corporation tax in respect of a sum paid to it, subsection (4) shall not apply, but the company may, by notice given to the Board not later than two years after the end of the accounting period in which the sum is paid, elect that the sum shall be treated as arising rateably in the accounting periods ending not later than six years from the beginning of that in which the sum is paid (being accounting periods during which the company remains within the charge to corporation tax in respect of any proceeds of the sale not consisting of a capital sum), and there shall be made all such repayments of tax and assessments to tax as are necessary to give effect to any such election.

(7) Subject to subsections (8) and (9) below, where the person selling all or any part of any patent rights (“the seller”) acquired the rights sold, or the rights out of which they were granted, by purchase and the price paid by him consisted wholly or partly of a capital sum, the preceding provisions of this section shall apply as if any capital sum received by him when he sells the rights were reduced by the amount of that sum.

(8) Where between the purchase and the sale the seller has sold part of the rights acquired by him and the net proceeds of that sale consist wholly or partly of a capital sum, the amount of the reduction falling to be made under subsection (7) above in respect of the subsequent sale shall be itself reduced by the amount of that sum.

(9) Nothing in subsections (7) and (8) above shall affect the amount of income tax which is to be deducted and assessed under section 349(1) and (3) by virtue of subsection (3) above, and, where any sum is deducted under section 349(1), any adjustment necessary to give effect to the provisions of this subsection shall be made by way of repayment of tax.

(10) A claim for relief under this section shall be made to the Board.